As the Alabama Legislature moves closer to adjournment, legislation is making slow but steady progress. Tuesday and Thursday marked the 21st and 22nd days of the 2013 Regular Session. With only eight legislative days left and significant legislation still awaiting passage -- and with the revival of some bills that were thought to be dead -- lawmakers intend to increase the pace. Somewhat prophetically, the Legislature took a shorter day on Thursday to honor a slain Mobile police officer and other law enforcement officers for their work, mere hours before the hunt for the Boston marathon bombers commenced. Both chambers will convene for the 23rd legislative day on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.

Senate Action

Legislators Make Changes to Alabama Accountability Act

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh and other state officials are considering proposed changes to the education reform legislation, better known as the Alabama Accountability Act. The changes announced during a public hearing on Tuesday, April 16 would alter the standards that provide tax credits to families who move students from failing schools to non-failing public or private schools, including narrowing the definition of a failing school

The question of whether families of students zoned for failing schools but currently enrolled in private schools would be able to claim the estimated $4,200 income tax credit is still a point of contention and confusion among legislators and education officials. Marsh, who championed the legislation and is widely regarded as the man who devised the plan by which it passed, said it was his understanding the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) and the Department of Revenue had determined those students would not be eligible. The Alabama Department of Revenue issued a statement that the matter was under review and "no final determinations" had been made. The ALSDE is reviewing the substitute.

The amended version of the bill clarifies some parts of the new law that raised questions. The bill makes clear that a failing school is listed in the lowest ten percent of public schools on the state standardized assessment in reading and math for three consecutive years or has earned an "F'' or three consecutive "Ds" on a school grading system that is being developed. It also provides that if a student transfers from a failing school to a private school, the failing school will not lose all the state funding that it had previously received for that student. Instead, it will get to keep about one-fifth. Another provision requires that a student in a failing school who wants to transfer to a non-failing public school must first attempt to enroll in a non-failing school in his local school system before attempting to enroll in a school outside his own system. The bill also provides that no public or private school shall be forced to enroll a student merely because the student's parent receives an income tax credit under the new law. The bill also stipulates that the new tax credit law cannot override school desegregation orders. Senator Dick Brewbaker also made clear he would introduce an amendment clarifying that private school students zoned for failing schools could receive the credits. The committee did not vote on the changes Tuesday.

Payday Loan Legislation Introduced

Last week, the House Financial Services Committee effectively killed two bills that would have capped payday and title loan interest rates at 36 percent by referring the legislation to a subcommittee, a place where bills go to die. Marsh, however, was not ready to let the issue go. He introduced a new bill that would cut the interest rates charged by payday loan companies, limit the number of payday loans individuals could take out and create a central database to track individuals' loans. The bill would prohibit borrowers from taking out more than six loans per year and would reduce fees from $17.50 per $100 borrowed to $12.50 per $100 borrowed. Payday loan companies would also be forbidden from extending loans to individuals who have already taken out $500 in loans. Stephen Stetson, an analyst with Alabama Arise, which supports payday and title loan reform legislation, said that would cut the maximum APR on payday loans from 456 percent to 326 percent. Title loan operators, however, could still charge up to 300 percent APR on the loans they offer as Marsh's proposed legislation only addresses payday lending. Licensees would also be forbidden from threatening customers, from making collection attempts at unreasonable hours of the night or from denying the customer use of personal property not secured in the loan. The bill is a result of collaboration with State Banking Superintendent John Harrison. With only eight days left in the Regular Session, Marsh has deemed this bill "a priority piece of legislation".

Nurse Practitioners Allowed Prescription Power

By a vote of 27-1, senators passed legislation that would allow certified registered nurse practitioners to prescribe certain drugs. The bill would allow the practitioners, operating under the supervision of a collaborating physician, to prescribe certain painkillers, antibiotics and other medicines that they currently cannot. Certified registered nurse practitioners are registered nurses who get a graduate degree in a nurse practitioner program and national certification. Proponents of the bill maintain that patients in rural areas often depend on nurse practitioners as a first option for health care because they have to drive some distance to see a physician. Although practitioners can prescribe certain medicines now, there are limitations on prescription writing. It would allow practitioners and midwives to be certified to prescribe Level 3, 4 and 5 drugs. The bill would also apply to nurse midwives. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, which has already passed a similar measure.

Repeal of Common Core Standards Revived

The repeal of Common Core Standards, widely regarded as virtually dead this session, has seen new life and scored its first win in the legislative process. The Senate Education Committee, in a sharply divided voice vote, approved a bill to repeal the standards adopted by the State Board of Education. Earlier in the session, two similar bills were effectively killed in the House and Senate Education Committees. Before the voice vote was taken, Senator Bill Holtzclaw offered an amendment that would have kept the standards in place but would have prevented the State Board of Education from ceding control over Alabama standards to anyone outside of Alabama. The Holtzclaw amendment failed on a 5-4 vote with one abstention.

The Common Core standards were an initiative of the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The standards set more rigorous goals for reading and math across the United States. Alabama's Board of Education adopted them in late 2010 and made them part of Alabama's College and Career Ready Standards for K-12 schools. Supporters of Common Core maintain that it standardizes the basics for all students to learn and is essential as families move from state to state, especially military families. Opponents, including Governor Bentley, fear federal intrusion into state-run education and reject the notion that the availability of federal funds to states is tied to the adoption of the national common core standards. The bill now heads to the Senate, where Marsh has predicted it will likely reach the floor and has a "very good" chance of passing.

Grandfather Provision to Double Dipping Law Approved

In 2010, the new Republican majority banned double dipping, effective November 5, 2014. Currently, several lawmakers continue to work as state employees and educators and would be affected by the change next year. Marsh has introduced legislation that would "grandfather in" those legislators who are already serving in both positions and allow them to continue to serve after the 2014 election, when the prohibition on holding both positions begins. On a non-roll call vote, the Senate Education Committee approved the bill, which would allow legislators who worked for public schools, colleges or state agencies on December 1, 2010, to continue to hold those jobs beyond the 2014 deadline. House Speaker Mike Hubbard has stated that his position has not changed since they passed legislation in 2010 to end the practice of double dipping.

Grocery Tax Bill Advances

A Senate committee approved a bill that would eliminate the state sales tax on food. The proposal would lower the four-cent state sales tax from food purchases by one cent per year. It would replace the lost revenue, more or less, with quarter-cent increases, yearly for the next four years, on sales tax on all other items. City and county taxes on groceries would remain in place. While other states impose sales tax on food, Alabama and Mississippi are the only states that tax food at the full rate. Critics say it imposes an undue burden on people in poverty, who spend a higher percentage of their income on food. Some committee members were troubled about the effect a general sales tax increase would have on non-grocery stores. After members expressed concern that cities and counties would simply make up the difference by passing their own taxes on food, bringing the cumulative grocery tax back up to its current level, they suggested a provision be included to place a cap on local sales taxes on food. The sponsor, Senator Gerald Dial, would not do so. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Independent Tax Appeals Commission Goes to Senate

The Senate Fiscal Responsibility & Accountability Committee gave a favorable report to a bill that will create an independent tax appeals tribunal, separate and apart from the Department of Revenue, and updates the Alabama Taxpayers' Bill of Rights to conform to provisions of federal law and to promote tax fairness and compliance. The bill further provides that the governor will select successive tax appeals judges from a list of five qualified candidates recommended and vetted by a select nominating committee.

Home Brewing Bill Moves Forward

By a vote of 3-2, the Senate Job Creation and Economic Development Committee gave a favorable report to a bill to legalize home brewing. The bill passed the House earlier and now goes to the Senate for a final vote.

Workers' Compensation Changes Introduced

Marsh introduced an 85-page bill that would make substantial changes to the Worker's Compensation law and will likely put some business interests at odds with health care providers. One of the provisions would cap workers' compensation for medical payments. Due to its introduction late in the session, most observers believe the bill will not proceed far this session but will likely be introduced and fully debated in the 2014 Regular Session.

House of Representatives Action

Proposed General Fund Passes House Committee

The House Ways and Means General Fund Committee approved a proposed $1.7 billion budget. The budget provides an additional $10 million for the State Employees' Insurance Board, in anticipation of an expected insurance rate hike for state employees this year. Governor Bentley had sought an extra $20 million for Department of Corrections (DOC), which was reduced to $17 million in the Senate. The House committee cut it to a little over $13 million. DOC must cover mandatory increases for retiree costs and health insurance for prisoners. Accordingly, plans to hire additional correctional officers and make security improvements to Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women will not proceed. The committee approved a $108.3 million budget for state courts, about $5 million more than what the system was set to receive but far below the $125 million court budget from 2012. Last month, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, blaming budget constraints, closed circuit clerks' offices to the public on Wednesdays. Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) Director Lance LeFleur has stated that, if additional funds are not included in the budget for ADEM, he will seek a permit fee increase to fill any gaps.

House Leaders Unveil School Safety Plan

After the school shooting in Newtown, Hubbard called for a joint hearing of the House and Senate Education Policy Committees, where members of the law enforcement and education communities shared their perspectives with lawmakers. Based on those insights, House leaders unveiled plans to move forward with proposals that would sell and issue up to $50 million in bonds for equipment to secure schools; require schools to have active shooter and intruder drills; create a crime for trespassing on a school bus; and allow school districts to hire certified, trained officers as resource officers. Hubbard feels confident the proposals will pass. The recommendations include:

up to $50 million in bonds for schools to buy necessary equipment and make renovations so they can secure all entrances;

replacing existing "fire drills" with "emergency drills" that would take into account other situations besides just fires, having at least one per semester designated as a "code red" drill to prepare schools for a threat of violence that would cause a lockdown;

creating a new crime for trespassing on school buses, a measure inspired by the Dale County crisis, when a man entered a school bus, killed the driver and held one student hostage;

requiring schools to offer all employees the opportunity to take an active shooter preparation course so teachers and staffers know what to do in the event of a shooting; and

increasing funding for Virtual Alabama, a program that lets emergency responders see maps of schools, hospitals and other public locations when responding to an emergency.

Placement of Armed Guards in Schools Considered

A bill has been introduced that would not mandate placement of security guards in schools but would give education officials the discretion to do so. The legislation would require said guards to be certified by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission and undergo special active-shooter training. Governor Bentley vetoed a bill that would have allowed armed volunteers in rural Franklin County -- reversing a previous statement -- on the grounds the bill did not provide specifics for required training guards would undergo.

Medicaid Reform

Alabama Medicaid Overhaul Moves to House and Senate Chambers

On dual voice votes within hours of each other, the House and Senate Health Committees approved legislation to transform the state's Medicaid program. The committee chairmen, Representative Jim McClendon and Senator Greg Reed, sponsored the Medicaid-revision bills. Their bills allow the Medicaid Agency to authorize regional care organizations to manage the health care of approximately 940,000 Medicaid recipients and avoid costly emergency room visits for routine care. The substitutes removed the original concept of allowing up to eight regional care organizations.

The legislation would revamp the way the state delivers services in the health care program for the poor, changing from a fee-for-service model in favor of a network of locally run managed care organizations. Supporters believe the proposal will "move the risk" to the regional care organizations. "We will send them X amount of dollars per patient. It will be up to them then to put the provider networks together and pay the providers," McClendon said. State Health Officer Don Williamson said the organizations would have a financial incentive to manage patient care to decrease expensive emergency room visits and other costs. Federal rules covering mandated services would still apply. While the number of regional care organizations has yet to be determined, regions must be drawn by this fall and governing boards appointed within a year.

The House Ways and Means General Fund Committee also approved, by voice vote, two Medicaid-related bills. The first would extend the Medicaid nursing home supplemental privilege assessment and monthly surcharge for two years. The second would extend the hospital Medicaid assessment for three fiscal years but would allow alteration after two years if Congress mandates other changes. The Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee also passed a House-approved bill making Medicaid fraud a Class C felony. The bill would appropriate $250,000 each of the next three fiscal years to the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and appropriate $1 million next fiscal year to the Alabama Medicaid Agency. The $1 million will pay for an upgraded Medicaid information system that will screen each Medicaid application for fraud or errors, according to the bill's synopsis.

Innovator Liability Reform Proposed

Legislation aimed at preventing brand-name manufacturers from being sued by consumers who use a generic version of their product made by a different company has been introduced in the House. The bill's sponsor, Representative Jack Williams, Chairman of the House Commerce and Small Business Committee, plans to get the bill through his committee and on a fast-track for approval. Williams said he is sponsoring the bill to address a January decision by the Alabama Supreme Court that a brand name manufacturer -- or innovator -- can be held liable for injuries suffered by someone who used a generic equivalent of the product made by a different company.

Bill Limiting Legal Fees Passes House

By a vote of 69-26, the House passed the Transparency In Private Attorney Contracting (TIPAC) bill. The legislation promotes a uniform set of standards and requires that government attorneys control state litigation, rather than private attorneys who have a financial interest at stake. It also requires a state agency to explain why it would be in the state's best interest to hire outside counsel on a contingency fee basis. It sets a tiered fee structure to ensure it is for the public good and not private profit. The bill requires annual reports on contingency fee counsel so lawmakers and the public can review the practice. The bill does not include attorneys hired on an hourly basis by the state. Hourly agreements with private attorneys are already transparent and readily available for public review. An amendment was proposed and accepted to allow the attorney general to seek a waiver to the contingency fee limits in the event of extraordinary circumstances by certifying, in writing, to the governor why a waiver is necessary. The governor could either reject the waiver or certify it in an Executive Order. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

The House Economic Development and Tourism Committee passed legislation lowering the eligibility standards for capital credit. The current requirements for a new or expanding industrial project to qualify for capital credit are a minimum of $100 million invested and a minimum of 100 new jobs created. The proposed legislation will lower those levels to a standard of at least $50 million invested and at least 50 new jobs created. It is expected that the lower eligibility thresholds will encourage a number of companies to give the "go ahead" to mid-size projects in the planning stage. The bill also amends a provision that would extend the carry forward of the capital credit from the current four years to a total of five years.

In Other News...

Democrat Party Chairman Resigns

Democrat Party Chairman Mark Kennedy announced his resignation. Kennedy has been in a heated fight with Vice Chairman Joe Reed, a long-time party fixture and the head of the Alabama Democratic Conference, which is the state's largest African American political organization. No successor has been named.

Brunson White Tapped to Be First IT Secretary

Governor Bentley appointed retired Energen Senior Vice President Brunson White as his Information Technology Secretary, a cabinet position created by the Legislature earlier in the session.

The Alabama State Public Policy Team will continue to monitor all proposed and pending legislation and maintain a presence in the State House throughout the legislative session. Should you have any questions or concerns about how the Legislature's activities could affect your business, please contact Dennis Nabors in our Montgomery office or Denise Killebrew in our Birmingham office.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

Baker Donelson on:

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.

- hide

JD Supra Privacy Policy

Updated: May 25, 2018:

JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.

This Privacy Policy describes how JD Supra, LLC ("JD Supra" or "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses and shares personal data collected from visitors to our website (located at www.jdsupra.com) (our "Website") who view only publicly-available content as well as subscribers to our services (such as our email digests or author tools)(our "Services"). By using our Website and registering for one of our Services, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Please note that if you subscribe to one of our Services, you can make choices about how we collect, use and share your information through our Privacy Center under the "My Account" dashboard (available if you are logged into your JD Supra account).

Collection of Information

Registration Information. When you register with JD Supra for our Website and Services, either as an author or as a subscriber, you will be asked to provide identifying information to create your JD Supra account ("Registration Data"), such as your:

Email

First Name

Last Name

Company Name

Company Industry

Title

Country

Other Information: We also collect other information you may voluntarily provide. This may include content you provide for publication. We may also receive your communications with others through our Website and Services (such as contacting an author through our Website) or communications directly with us (such as through email, feedback or other forms or social media). If you are a subscribed user, we will also collect your user preferences, such as the types of articles you would like to read.

Information from third parties (such as, from your employer or LinkedIn): We may also receive information about you from third party sources. For example, your employer may provide your information to us, such as in connection with an article submitted by your employer for publication. If you choose to use LinkedIn to subscribe to our Website and Services, we also collect information related to your LinkedIn account and profile.

Your interactions with our Website and Services: As is true of most websites, we gather certain information automatically. This information includes IP addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp and clickstream data. We use this information to analyze trends, to administer the Website and our Services, to improve the content and performance of our Website and Services, and to track users' movements around the site. We may also link this automatically-collected data to personal information, for example, to inform authors about who has read their articles. Some of this data is collected through information sent by your web browser. We also use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect this information. To learn more about cookies and other tracking technologies that JD Supra may use on our Website and Services please see our "Cookies Guide" page.

How do we use this information?

We use the information and data we collect principally in order to provide our Website and Services. More specifically, we may use your personal information to:

Operate our Website and Services and publish content;

Distribute content to you in accordance with your preferences as well as to provide other notifications to you (for example, updates about our policies and terms);

Measure readership and usage of the Website and Services;

Communicate with you regarding your questions and requests;

Authenticate users and to provide for the safety and security of our Website and Services;

Conduct research and similar activities to improve our Website and Services; and

Comply with our legal and regulatory responsibilities and to enforce our rights.

How is your information shared?

Content and other public information (such as an author profile) is shared on our Website and Services, including via email digests and social media feeds, and is accessible to the general public.

If you choose to use our Website and Services to communicate directly with a company or individual, such communication may be shared accordingly.

Readership information is provided to publishing law firms and authors of content to give them insight into their readership and to help them to improve their content.

Our Website may offer you the opportunity to share information through our Website, such as through Facebook's "Like" or Twitter's "Tweet" button. We offer this functionality to help generate interest in our Website and content and to permit you to recommend content to your contacts. You should be aware that sharing through such functionality may result in information being collected by the applicable social media network and possibly being made publicly available (for example, through a search engine). Any such information collection would be subject to such third party social media network's privacy policy.

Your information may also be shared to parties who support our business, such as professional advisors as well as web-hosting providers, analytics providers and other information technology providers.

Any court, governmental authority, law enforcement agency or other third party where we believe disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, or otherwise to protect our rights, the rights of any third party or individuals' personal safety, or to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or safety issues.

To our affiliated entities and in connection with the sale, assignment or other transfer of our company or our business.

How We Protect Your Information

JD Supra takes reasonable and appropriate precautions to insure that user information is protected from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. We restrict access to user information to those individuals who reasonably need access to perform their job functions, such as our third party email service, customer service personnel and technical staff. You should keep in mind that no Internet transmission is ever 100% secure or error-free. Where you use log-in credentials (usernames, passwords) on our Website, please remember that it is your responsibility to safeguard them. If you believe that your log-in credentials have been compromised, please contact us at privacy@jdsupra.com.

Children's Information

Our Website and Services are not directed at children under the age of 16 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16 through our Website and/or Services. If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 16 has provided personal information to us, please contact us, and we will endeavor to delete that information from our databases.

Links to Other Websites

Our Website and Services may contain links to other websites. The operators of such other websites may collect information about you, including through cookies or other technologies. If you are using our Website or Services and click a link to another site, you will leave our Website and this Policy will not apply to your use of and activity on those other sites. We encourage you to read the legal notices posted on those sites, including their privacy policies. We are not responsible for the data collection and use practices of such other sites. This Policy applies solely to the information collected in connection with your use of our Website and Services and does not apply to any practices conducted offline or in connection with any other websites.

Information for EU and Swiss Residents

JD Supra's principal place of business is in the United States. By subscribing to our website, you expressly consent to your information being processed in the United States.

Our Legal Basis for Processing: Generally, we rely on our legitimate interests in order to process your personal information. For example, we rely on this legal ground if we use your personal information to manage your Registration Data and administer our relationship with you; to deliver our Website and Services; understand and improve our Website and Services; report reader analytics to our authors; to personalize your experience on our Website and Services; and where necessary to protect or defend our or another's rights or property, or to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, safety or privacy issues. Please see Article 6(1)(f) of the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") In addition, there may be other situations where other grounds for processing may exist, such as where processing is a result of legal requirements (GDPR Article 6(1)(c)) or for reasons of public interest (GDPR Article 6(1)(e)). Please see the "Your Rights" section of this Privacy Policy immediately below for more information about how you may request that we limit or refrain from processing your personal information.

Your Rights

Right of Access/Portability: You can ask to review details about the information we hold about you and how that information has been used and disclosed. Note that we may request to verify your identification before fulfilling your request. You can also request that your personal information is provided to you in a commonly used electronic format so that you can share it with other organizations.

Right to Correct Information: You may ask that we make corrections to any information we hold, if you believe such correction to be necessary.

Right to Restrict Our Processing or Erasure of Information: You also have the right in certain circumstances to ask us to restrict processing of your personal information or to erase your personal information. Where you have consented to our use of your personal information, you can withdraw your consent at any time.

You can make a request to exercise any of these rights by emailing us at privacy@jdsupra.com or by writing to us at:

You can also manage your profile and subscriptions through our Privacy Center under the "My Account" dashboard.

We will make all practical efforts to respect your wishes. There may be times, however, where we are not able to fulfill your request, for example, if applicable law prohibits our compliance. Please note that JD Supra does not use "automatic decision making" or "profiling" as those terms are defined in the GDPR.

Timeframe for retaining your personal information: We will retain your personal information in a form that identifies you only for as long as it serves the purpose(s) for which it was initially collected as stated in this Privacy Policy, or subsequently authorized. We may continue processing your personal information for longer periods, but only for the time and to the extent such processing reasonably serves the purposes of archiving in the public interest, journalism, literature and art, scientific or historical research and statistical analysis, and subject to the protection of this Privacy Policy. For example, if you are an author, your personal information may continue to be published in connection with your article indefinitely. When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

Onward Transfer to Third Parties: As noted in the "How We Share Your Data" Section above, JD Supra may share your information with third parties. When JD Supra discloses your personal information to third parties, we have ensured that such third parties have either certified under the EU-U.S. or Swiss Privacy Shield Framework and will process all personal data received from EU member states/Switzerland in reliance on the applicable Privacy Shield Framework or that they have been subjected to strict contractual provisions in their contract with us to guarantee an adequate level of data protection for your data.

California Privacy Rights

Pursuant to Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, our customers who are California residents have the right to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

You can make a request for this information by emailing us at privacy@jdsupra.com or by writing to us at:

Some browsers have incorporated a Do Not Track (DNT) feature. These features, when turned on, send a signal that you prefer that the website you are visiting not collect and use data regarding your online searching and browsing activities. As there is not yet a common understanding on how to interpret the DNT signal, we currently do not respond to DNT signals on our site.

Access/Correct/Update/Delete Personal Information

For non-EU/Swiss residents, if you would like to know what personal information we have about you, you can send an e-mail to privacy@jdsupra.com. We will be in contact with you (by mail or otherwise) to verify your identity and provide you the information you request. We will respond within 30 days to your request for access to your personal information. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why. If you would like to correct or update your personal information, you can manage your profile and subscriptions through our Privacy Center under the "My Account" dashboard. If you would like to delete your account or remove your information from our Website and Services, send an e-mail to privacy@jdsupra.com.

Changes in Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. Please refer to the date at the top of this page to determine when this Policy was last revised. Any changes to our Privacy Policy will become effective upon posting of the revised policy on the Website. By continuing to use our Website and Services following such changes, you will be deemed to have agreed to such changes.

Contacting JD Supra

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, your dealings with our Website or Services, or if you would like to change any of the information you have provided to us, please contact us at: privacy@jdsupra.com.

JD Supra Cookie Guide

As with many websites, JD Supra's website (located at www.jdsupra.com) (our "Website") and our services (such as our email article digests)(our "Services") use a standard technology called a "cookie" and other similar technologies (such as, pixels and web beacons), which are small data files that are transferred to your computer when you use our Website and Services. These technologies automatically identify your browser whenever you interact with our Website and Services.

How We Use Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to:

Improve the user experience on our Website and Services;

Store the authorization token that users receive when they login to the private areas of our Website. This token is specific to a user's login session and requires a valid username and password to obtain. It is required to access the user's profile information, subscriptions, and analytics;

Track anonymous site usage; and

Permit connectivity with social media networks to permit content sharing.

There are different types of cookies and other technologies used our Website, notably:

"Session cookies" - These cookies only last as long as your online session, and disappear from your computer or device when you close your browser (like Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Safari).

"Persistent cookies" - These cookies stay on your computer or device after your browser has been closed and last for a time specified in the cookie. We use persistent cookies when we need to know who you are for more than one browsing session. For example, we use them to remember your preferences for the next time you visit.

"Web Beacons/Pixels" - Some of our web pages and emails may also contain small electronic images known as web beacons, clear GIFs or single-pixel GIFs. These images are placed on a web page or email and typically work in conjunction with cookies to collect data. We use these images to identify our users and user behavior, such as counting the number of users who have visited a web page or acted upon one of our email digests.

JD Supra Cookies. We place our own cookies on your computer to track certain information about you while you are using our Website and Services. For example, we place a session cookie on your computer each time you visit our Website. We use these cookies to allow you to log-in to your subscriber account. In addition, through these cookies we are able to collect information about how you use the Website, including what browser you may be using, your IP address, and the URL address you came from upon visiting our Website and the URL you next visit (even if those URLs are not on our Website). We also utilize email web beacons to monitor whether our emails are being delivered and read. We also use these tools to help deliver reader analytics to our authors to give them insight into their readership and help them to improve their content, so that it is most useful for our users.

Analytics/Performance Cookies. JD Supra also uses the following analytic tools to help us analyze the performance of our Website and Services as well as how visitors use our Website and Services:

Google Analytics - For more information on Google Analytics cookies, visit www.google.com/policies. To opt-out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. This will allow you to download and install a Google Analytics cookie-free web browser.

Facebook, Twitter and other Social Network Cookies. Our content pages allow you to share content appearing on our Website and Services to your social media accounts through the "Like," "Tweet," or similar buttons displayed on such pages. To accomplish this Service, we embed code that such third party social networks provide and that we do not control. These buttons know that you are logged in to your social network account and therefore such social networks could also know that you are viewing the JD Supra Website.

Controlling and Deleting Cookies

If you would like to change how a browser uses cookies, including blocking or deleting cookies from the JD Supra Website and Services you can do so by changing the settings in your web browser. To control cookies, most browsers allow you to either accept or reject all cookies, only accept certain types of cookies, or prompt you every time a site wishes to save a cookie. It's also easy to delete cookies that are already saved on your device by a browser.

The processes for controlling and deleting cookies vary depending on which browser you use. To find out how to do so with a particular browser, you can use your browser's "Help" function or alternatively, you can visit http://www.aboutcookies.org which explains, step-by-step, how to control and delete cookies in most browsers.

Updates to This Policy

We may update this cookie policy and our Privacy Policy from time-to-time, particularly as technology changes. You can always check this page for the latest version. We may also notify you of changes to our privacy policy by email.

Contacting JD Supra

If you have any questions about how we use cookies and other tracking technologies, please contact us at: privacy@jdsupra.com.

- hide

This website uses cookies to improve user experience, track anonymous site usage, store authorization tokens and permit sharing on social media networks. By continuing to browse this website you accept the use of cookies. Click here to read more about how we use cookies.